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Washington, D.C. Headquarters EEOC CONTINUES TO SERVE THE PUBLIC DURING COVID-19 CRISIS           The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) wants you to know that we are continuing to enforce the nation’s employment non-discrimination laws while ensuring that all of our activities are consistent with public health guidelines. The EEOC has closed its physical offices to the public and implemented agency-wide expanded telework.  But our work continues remotely, across the private and federal sectors, and in our efforts educate the public about their workplace rights and responsibilities. The EEOC’s private sector litigation continues, in accordance with the rules of the courts where the cases are filed. Private Sector:  Preserving access to file a charge of discrimination is important because the laws the EEOC enforces have deadlines within which individuals must file discrimination charges.  To begin the process of filing a charge of discrimination, employees and applicants are encouraged to visit the EEOC Public Portal to schedule an intake appointment by telephone. The system can also be accessed by going directly to our website at www.eeoc.gov.  Anyone who cannot use the portal can call the EEOC at 1-800-669-4000 to begin the process of filing a charge.  At the end of an investigation the EEOC will issue a Notice of Right to Sue (Notice) to charging parties.  Once you receive a Notice, you must file your lawsuit within 90 days. This deadline is set by law and cannot be changed by the EEOC.  If you do not file in time you may be prevented from going forward with your lawsuit. Employers are encouraged to utilize the EEOC Public Portal to interact with the agency. Information about reaching an EEOC field office is available at https://www.eeoc.gov/field/index.cfm. Federal Sector:  The EEOC continues to provide leadership and guidance to federal agencies on all aspects of the federal government's equal employment opportunity program, while also working with parties where requests for hearings on EEO complaints have been filed, and adjudicating appeals from administrative decisions made by federal agencies on EEO complaints. To communicate more efficiently with federal employees and agencies regarding the appeal process, we encourage employees in the federal sector EEO process to file requests for hearings and appeals electronically through the EEOC Public Portal, and agencies use the FedSep portal to send documents and other materials to the EEOC. To access your appeal online and allow the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations to adjudicate your appeal, you first need to register with the EEOC Public Portal. To help you easily use the Portal, we’ve prepared a User Guide for federal employees with appeals. Education and Outreach: The EEOC has a robust outreach and education program in place to reach employees, applicants, and employers about the laws we enforce.  While trainings and conferences are on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, the EEOC continues to provide information through our website, social media, the EEOC Training Institute, and our Outreach and Education Coordinators nationwide. The EEOC recently made COVID-19-specific publications available on our website, including the "What You Should Know About the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and COVID-19" and "Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act". The EEOC last updated the COVID-19 "What You Should Know" on Thursday, March 19, 2020, and the Pandemic Preparedness document on COVID-19 on Saturday, March 21, 2020. The EEOC also posted a pre-recorded, online webinar addressing questions involving the intersection of the Federal equal employment opportunity laws and the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach the EEOC by videophone at 1-844-234-5122. If you have a disability which prevents you from accessing the Public Portal or you otherwise have difficulty with accessing the portal, please call 1-800-669-4000. The EEOC will continue assessing the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on our activities and will provide updates to the public as soon as possible.

FTC pans Made in USA claims for certain Williams-Sonoma products as deceptive By Lesley Fair If your company has made misleading Made in USA claims and represents that the inaccuracies have been corrected, it’s unwise to put ongoing compliance on the back burner. Conduct like that can move an advertiser out of the frying pan and into the fire. Case in point: the FTC’s proposed complaint alleging that kitchen and home notable Williams-Sonoma falsely represented its signature bakeware line as Made in USA. The FTC action also challenges Made in USA claims for products branded with Williams-Sonoma’s Rejuvenation, Pottery Barn Teen, and Pottery Barn Kids names. One key provision of the proposed settlement: a $1 million financial judgment. Read more >

Got student loan debt? Read this. (Sorry! Corrected link) by Ari Lazarus Consumer Education Specialist, FTC You’ve probably seen ads for companies that can help you lower – or even totally get rid of – your student loan debt. Some of those companies just take your money and do nothing for you. Read more > FTC pans Made in USA claims for certain Williams-Sonoma products as deceptive By Lesley Fair If your company has made misleading Made in USA claims and represents that the inaccuracies have been corrected, it’s unwise to put ongoing compliance on the back burner. Conduct like that can move an advertiser out of the frying pan and into the fire. Case in point: the FTC’s proposed complaint alleging that kitchen and home notable Williams-Sonoma falsely represented its signature bakeware line as Made in USA. The FTC action also challenges Made in USA claims for products branded with Williams-Sonoma’s Rejuvenation, Pottery Barn Teen, and Pottery Barn Kids names. One key provision of the proposed settlement: a $1 million financial judgment. Read more > USCIS to Continue Processing Applications for Employment Authorization Extension Requests Despite Application Support Center Closures U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that it will reuse previously submitted biometrics in order to process valid Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, extension requests due to the temporary closure of Application Support Centers (ASC) to the public in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This announcement is consistent with existing USCIS authorities regarding the agency’s ability to reuse previously submitted biometrics. Applicants who had an appointment scheduled with an ASC on or after the March 18 closure or has filed an I-765 extension will have their application processed using previously submitted biometrics.  This will remain in effect until ASCs are open for appointments to the public.